What if You're Wrong?
by Amarie Miriel
Summary: Set just before the Battle City Duel between Kaiba and Ishizu. The two opponents assess each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
1. Seto Kaiba

Kaiba's POV 

If this duelist doesn't show up soon I'm going to become more irate than I already am. If he doesn't have the courage to face me he should at least have the dignity to forfeit in person. Time is money.

Finally I hear the sounds of the elevator reach the surface. To my faint surprise the figure of a woman emerges. No matter, I'll crush her like all the others. I show no mercy to any of my opponents, regardless of sex, race or social status. I don't play favorites.

She's walking confidently, head held high. As she reaches her side of the platform she removes her veil in a pseudo-dramatic flourish. My mind instantly identifies her features from the countless faces I have encountered in my life. This is a fine turn of events. Ishizu Ishtar- museum curator and delusional mystic- is about to be defeated by the very card she gave me!

Why does this woman persist in relying on superstitious fairy tales? Right now she's ranting about how I should accept my destiny, how she is fated to win this duel. Don't expect to win me over Ishtar. Waste your words on someone who cares.

Duel monsters is a game of skill and chance. There is no guiding force, like Yugi's idiotic, naive belief in the heart of the cards, behind it. The cards are merely slips of paper: the only "life" in them is a product of my technological genius. We are merely two human beings brought together by random chance. Fate had nothing to do with it.

I don't believe in fate. I control my life, not some mystical force. I believe only in what can be seen, felt, smelt, tasted, and heard. Destiny is a foolish dream for weak people who have no purpose in life and don't have the guts to make something of themselves.

Have you ever stopped to consider that your faith may be false? What if the foundation of your belief is merely a crutch you use to keep from facing the truth? I wonder what will happen when I pull away your support. When all your magic mumbo-jumbo fails, when you loose despite that ugly piece of junk hanging around your neck, what will you do? Will you stumble and fall?

Reality is cruel. Maybe I don't blame you for trying to avoid it. You want to blame something for your brother's descent into madness, so you chose fate. I pity you, really. Your defeat will shatter your hope; crush your dreams. What will you have left after this duel is over? Nothing. I'll have taken it all.

A/N: The last paragraph was kinda out of character. Sorry about that. The next chapter will be from Ishizu's point of view. Please review!


	2. Ishizu Ishtar

Reviewer Replies:

Undeclared Death: Thank you so much for reviewing. Yeah, it was kinda short. This chapter is too... Well I wrote them during school so that is probably why. Thanks for adding this to your favorites!

Isis Ishtahl: Thank you for adding this fic to your favorites list. I wish you had reviewed though so I could know what you liked about it.

_Ishizu's POV_

The constant hum of the elevator fills my ears as it rushes towards the dueling level. Half consciously my hand reaches up to touch my necklace. As my fingers trace its familiar golden contours I am comforted. My eyelids close, hiding my blue-green eyes as I breathe deeply. Images of the future, past and present deluge my mind's eye. Over the years I have learned to discern a pattern from this constant rush of knowledge. I focus on the near future and the duel just ahead of me. I know that I will win. I will use Kaiba's pride against him.

The elevator slows to a stop. I open my eyes slowly and prepare to leave the metal enclosure. With a mechanical whirr, the doors slide open, sending a rush of cool night air towards me. My veil flutters slightly against my face.

I see you, my opponent. Proud. Confident. You call yourself a realist. You scorn my faith in destiny; you ridicule my "hocus-pocus magic tricks." I believe in things beyond the physical. I've heard you ridicule the pharaoh and his counterpart for their belief in the heart of the cards. Have you ever stopped to think that is why they win so much? Fate is very real Seto Kaiba. You and I are about to duel. One of us has been destined to win. Soon you shall see.

You astound me, Seto Kaiba. How can you persist in your self-imposed blindness? Only by embracing your past can you truly shape your future.

What motivates you, I wonder? Your gaze is steady and unwavering. Your eyes are like chips of blue ice, cold and devoid of emotion. What drives you? Is it power? Money? Control, or fear of loosing it? Have you let ambition cloud your perception of the world around you?

I know there is a vestige of good left within my brother. I would like to think there is a spark of humanity left within your soul as well. As I fight for my brother, in a strange way, I'm fighting for you too. When I win this duel I'll be one step closer to freeing Marik from the darkness. When I win this duel I'll force you to come to grips with the reality of my necklace's power.

I wonder what your reaction will be when you discover that there's more to life than meets the eye. Everything you ever believed in is only part of what's really here. Will you continue to deny the truth?

We're not really so different, you and I. Neither of us will back down from a challenge. We love our families and will fight to the death if need be for them. In another world, another time, we might have been friends. But here, now we are opponents. Don't expect to beat me. I'm no weak-willed, crazy seer. I'm a threat to you and I will not, cannot loose.

A/N: I'm trying to write an epilogue type chapter to wrap things up. It will be set after the duel and will be longer than the first two chapters. PLEASE REVIEW!


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